Over the past two years, Han Li had visited the market several times to replenish materials for crafting puppets. His generous spending had familiarized the shopkeepers with his face. After briefly inquiring with one of them, he obtained the information he needed and headed with Qu Hun to a bookstore called “White Gate Pavilion.”
The shop indeed contained records of all the demon beasts discovered in the Chaotic Star Seas thus far. Heartened, Han Li spent over a hundred spirit stones to copy all the materials. As for the information on the demon beast islands in the Outer Star Seas, he found it at another inconspicuous small shop.
Having achieved his goal, Han Li initially planned to return to his cave abode immediately. However, while passing by a shop specializing in “storage pouches” and “spirit beast pouches,” he felt a sudden impulse and walked in.
He now had far too many items to carry around. Aside from other things, the over two hundred puppet beasts alone occupied three or four storage pouches, which was quite inconvenient. Moreover, since he intended to hunt demon beasts at sea, aside from their demon cores, the rare materials from their bodies were also highly valuable and could not be discarded. Thus, he needed to prepare a few larger-capacity storage pouches.
Half an hour later, Han Li left the shop feeling a pang of regret. He had spent over a thousand spirit stones to purchase two large-capacity storage pouches, each nearly ten times the capacity of his previous ones, which should suffice for now.
Later, as he passed by the “Fengle Auction House,” renowned as the top auction house in Heavenly Star City, he couldn’t help but glance twice.
The auction catalog displayed at the entrance made Han Li’s eyes gleam with desire. It included fifth and sixth-grade rare demon beast cores, many high-level materials for crafting magic treasures, and numerous rare items he had never even heard of.
Unfortunately, although the items auctioned at this premier auction house were exceptional, they were beyond the reach of cultivators like Han Li, whose wealth amounted to only a few thousand spirit stones. Any rare item entering this auction house would see its price inflated by almost half again.
Given the rarity of thousand-year spirit herbs, they could undoubtedly fetch high prices at auction. However, Han Li did not want to invite trouble. Although he felt his spirit stones were insufficient, he was not yet in desperate need, so he decided it was better to avoid complications.
Gazing at the exorbitantly priced auction items, Han Li felt a tinge of bitterness and returned directly to his cave abode.
For the following month, Han Li did nothing but study the habits and weaknesses of the demon beasts found in the Outer Star Seas. He also contemplated the best methods to deal with them if encountered.
However, one day a month later, Han Li suddenly burst into laughter, dancing gleefully with a jade slip in his hand, his face filled with excitement. He then hurried out of his cave abode and headed straight for the market again…
Six months passed in the blink of an eye, and Han Li and Qu Hun appeared on the fiftieth layer of Heavenly Star City.
Before them stood a grand hall constructed from white marble, with a massive plaque several zhang long inscribed in gold powder with the three characters “Star Palace Hall.” The entrance was deserted.
Han Li calmly walked in with Qu Hun. After a short corridor, the space opened up into a vast hall over twenty zhang in length and width.
Inside the hall, five cultivators—four men and one woman—were conversing with a white-robed cultivator from the Heavenly Star Palace. Behind them stood rows of identically sized teleportation arrays, each with a small stone stele indicating its destination, making it clear at a glance.
Han Li did not scrutinize the arrays but instead used his spiritual sense to briefly scan the cultivators, feeling a sense of awe. Three of the six cultivators were at the Core Formation stage, while the other three were at mid to late Foundation Establishment stage.
Noticing Han Li and Qu Hun entering, the group looked over in surprise.
The white-robed Core Formation cultivator showed only a flicker of confusion upon seeing just Qu Hun and Han Li but quickly returned to normal. The other five cultivators, however, seemed pleased to see two more arrivals.
“Are you two fellow Daoists also heading to a demon beast island? Why not teleport with us and split the cost equally?” A seductive woman in her thirties from the group of five suddenly smiled charmingly at them.
Han Li paused for a moment before replying. Instead, he turned to the white-robed cultivator managing the arrays and asked, “Senior, is this permissible?”
“Of course. The teleportation fee is charged per activation, not per person. It costs seven hundred spirit stones to teleport one person or multiple people, but each activation can accommodate up to seven individuals,” the white-robed cultivator replied indifferently.
After expressing his gratitude respectfully, Han Li turned back with a smile and asked, “Which demon beast island are you fellow Daoists planning to visit? My martial uncle and I are heading to Emerald Mist Island.”
“Emerald Mist Island?” The woman, at the late Foundation Establishment stage, was momentarily taken aback. After exchanging glances with her companions, she quickly replied with a smile, “What a coincidence! We were just planning to go to Emerald Mist Island as well. We can go together!”
Han Li’s expression remained unchanged, but inwardly he sneered. *What a coincidence!* It was clear these people had no fixed destination in mind. However, since he could save a considerable amount of spirit stones, he saw no reason to refuse the offer and nodded in agreement.
Han Li contributed two hundred spirit stones, while the group of five paid five hundred. Together, they stepped onto the teleportation array marked “Emerald Mist Island.”
After collecting the spirit stones, the white-robed cultivator handed each of them a “Teleportation Talisman” to affix to their bodies. This talisman offered protection similar to the “Great Shift Token,” preventing accidents during long-distance teleportation.
Although the “Teleportation Talisman” could be used over very long distances, its range was limited, and it was single-use. Thus, it was far inferior to the “Great Shift Token.” Nevertheless, such talismans were rare items, crafted exclusively by the Heavenly Star Palace’s talisman masters and unavailable elsewhere.
As Han Li felt a hint of nervousness, the spirit stones embedded around the teleportation array emitted a dazzling white light.
The teleportation proceeded smoothly. In a flash of white light, Han Li and the other six found themselves in a simple stone room. Aside from an expressionless Heavenly Star Palace cultivator, the room was empty.
This cultivator, at the mid Foundation Establishment stage, was meditating cross-legged in a corner of the room. He cast a cold glance at the seven newcomers before closing his eyes again, showing no intention of engaging with them.
Han Li sensed unusual spiritual energy fluctuations, indicating that the stone room was enveloped by some kind of restrictive formation.
The door of the stone room was half-open, and through the gaps, faint voices and occasional shadows could be seen outside.
As Han Li curiously surveyed his surroundings, the group of five disembarked from the teleportation array. A ruddy-faced elder among them turned to Qu Hun and said, “Fellow Daoist, would you be interested in joining forces? We could split the spirit stones from selling any demon cores we obtain.” This elder was one of the two Core Formation cultivators in the group.
“No need. We have other plans. May you fellow Daoists take care,” Qu Hun replied flatly, his ugly face showing no emotion.
Seeing Qu Hun’s refusal, the elder showed a trace of disappointment and sighed. “What a pity. With your help, hunting even sixth-grade demon beasts would not be impossible.”
“You two seem to be first-timers here. Let me offer some advice: be wary not only of high-level demon beasts but also of rogue cultivators and evil practitioners who might ambush you. If possible, it’s better to team up with more fellow Daoists. You are always welcome to join us.” With these words, the elder led the others out through the door.
Han Li remained silent for a moment before chuckling softly and exiting with Qu Hun.
“What is this?” Han Li stared in astonishment at the scene outside the stone room.
It would not be entirely wrong to call the place a small street. There were general stores, magic tool shops, talisman shops, and even several acquisition shops, each with a listless shopkeeper inside.
However, these shops were exceedingly crude. Some were haphazardly built with rough stones, while others were pieced together with wooden planks, appearing utterly simplistic. Han Li wondered if they would withstand a strong gust of wind.
Moreover, this so-called street was centered around the stone room he had just left, with shops scattered disorderly in every direction, creating a chaotic and unpleasant sight.
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